Wrapper patching device for cigar machines



Feb. 23, 1932. .1. F. HALSTEAD WRAPPER PATCHING DEVICE FOR CIGARWIACHINES Filed Jan, 20, 1931 ATTORNEY INVENTOR 7 WzZ Mk. [III Hm Patented Fa. 23, 1932 UN EDTSTATEE omen M oHInERYcoMPAnxiA CQRPOBATION on NEW JERSEY? WRAPPER rnroiime Dir-viesroa o eeanteonmns l 'Applicationfiled.January 20, 1931; s r alim;510152. 1.

i I This invention relates to wrapper patching devices' 'forcigar machines, its main object being to provide means for applying a finishing patch to the head end or tip of a cigar, this patchto be out from the same leaf as the wrapper of each individual cigar andasnear as possible to the portion forming the head end of the cigarwhen the wrapper has been applied to it. lVith this and. other objects not specifically mentioned in view, the invention consists in certain constructions and combinations whlch Wlll be hereinafter fully described and then specifically set forth in the claimshereunto appended. V In applying cigar. wrappers by machine, the head of the cigar is finished by a small conical wheel having a suitable cone angle andsetat such an angle to the axis-of the cigar as best fits the desired's'hape of its head,

Since-the wrapperlies flat on the carrier "which transfers it from the cutting bed to the wrapper applying device, it is fed-to the circumference of the-cigar bunch in :a straight line which is parallel toits axis along the cylindrical portion of the bunch andebecomes a tangent tothe hunch when engaging with the aforesaid COIllC heading wheel. The

straight contour of the wrapping wheel. and the curved contour of the cigar shape. at the apex of the head can never be ident1cal,;the

, divergence of'the tangential straight .I .line

from theactual cigar shape being the greater the more blunt the head of the cigar is desired to be. Within the range of this more or less great divergence at the apex of the cigar, 1

the'wrapper will form wrinkles whichgi ve the cigar an unsightly appe aranceiespecial ly obj ectionable' when the cigars are to be packed with their ends up tin cans or similar containers. H p

To hide the aforesaid wrinkl ahdi fi' to givethe cigar end a neat, appearance, a small patch is placed at'the apex of the cigar I head, and in order to fulfill itspurpose completely, this patch must be of the "sametexture and color as the surrounding portions of the wrapper. It thus becomes necessary to out this patch not only fromthe sameleafas the p us d-01 m i divid a id sark ufi lifting rod of th-esuctionhead of the main JOHN FREDRIK' HAL'sTEenlor BROOKLYN, EW YORK, Assienon; 'roj In'rERnATIoNA L also from the same portion of that leaf which 7 diewhich ateachcutting stroke cuts from the wrapper leaf a small octagonal patch which is moved up into delivery position by a suction-headed patch: plungerjattached to the wrapper,dief' The polygonal fo'rm of the patch is preferable tothe-circular form, because the straight sides and'sharpcorners of the former blend better with the veins of the 1 tobaccothanwould the continously curved pear 1 as a I circular incision: around the tip of the cigar; The patch then is taken from synchronized'with the cigar machine that it [same time as the; cigar to which that wrapper is applied from which the patch has been out, Sincethere are a number of cigars un- Idergoing different operations in the machine fat'the same-time, several fimshediclgars will be ejected by themachine during the interval from the c'uttingfof a wrapper to itsdelivery on cigar it is therefore necessary'to pro vide a number of'patch transferarms identical with the numberfof cigars ejected duringthis interval. These arms are'arranged in symmetrical, star formation on an inter mittently. revolving tube connected withthe suction apparatus of thecigar machine. In order tlopr'event interference with the hands of the-:operatorserving thewrapper die,the" if armsof the patch carrier are so disposed and their intermittent motion is. so arranged that each arm when approaching its patch receiving position dwells-for the greatestpossible length of time at the greatest possible distance from the same, so. as to leave maximum clearan'ce for'tlie manipulation of tlie wrapperll V The patch is'applied by pushing the cigar against the same. manually iasf it' arrives in 1 contour of a roundpatch which would -ap-' -delivery position in which. thefsuction head ofv thedelivery arm is in'ali'gninent with a standior guide into which the newly delivered cigar placed and along whichitis pressed ion against the patch. The cigar coming fresh" from the wrapping device, its tip has enough surplus paste from sealing the flag so that no further paste is required for applying the patch. During and shortly after their dwell in the patch receiving position, the patch transfer arms receivestrong intermittent suction from one source to-lift the patch-from the die and to transfer it to the suction head "er the arm. After the ar n'has traversed a small angle, its head is subjected to a moderate continuoussu-ction "from another source which remains on the patch'until it is cut oif by the pressure of the Icigar against the;

patch pushing the movable patch holder against a spring in the-suction head, thereby displacing the suction opening of the head with respect to the suction duct-1n the .arm.

12 11 the accompanying drawlngs which form apart of this specification and inwhich like characters of reference indicate the same or like parts: I V

-Fi'gl is a view showing-the usual manner ofapplyingthe flag of the wrapper to the head end of a cigar; i Fig. 2 is a side perspective VlEBWfSlIOWiDg a ifinished cigar with apatchap l ed-to its tip;

- Fig; 3 is a side elevation o 3 the improved wrapper patching device Fig. 4 is an endelvationfof'the'same;

Fig. 5 is a sectional viewon enlarged'scale.

taken on the line5- 5 of Fig. 4;- and i- Fig. 6is'a partial plan-view ofEig. 3' showthe relativeposition o-t-the wrapper die and patch cutting die.

I 52 carrying the inventioninto efi'ect; there is provided means forcutting apatch for' a .ci'gar-wrapper and 'meansfor removing the patc'h-tlierefroni andcarrying it into position for applicationto the wrapper}; In the best forms of construction conteinpl'ated the patch cuttingmeans includes a patch cutting] the and a'patch plunger within said die and connectedto a suitable source of suction for retaining-the t'obaccolea-f on the die 1n positi on to-be -cutflIn the preferred forms of construction, the patch transfer means ineludesa plurality of transfer-arm's on a hub which is rotated from an indexing mechanism and connected to a'source of strong suction and a source of weak suction. The transfer arms carrypatch carrierswhichare connect Ledto the sources of; suction through said arms and hub, whereby strongsu'ct'ion maybe applied to the carriers to removethe patch which is then retained bythe weak suction.

These various means and parts may be. widely varied constructlon wvithin the scope of .theclaims, for the particular device selected jto illustrate the. invention is but one of many possible concrete embodiments. of the same. @The; invention, therefore, is not tobe restrictedfto' the specific construction shown and described.

Referring to Fig:"lytheheadiofthecigar bunch C, when having its wrapper W applied in the wrapping device is in contact with a conical heading wheel H, placed at an angle most suitable to theshape of the cigar. At the cigar tip, the contour of the cigar diverges from the comic surface of wheel H, leaving a space A at the apex ofthe oi gar in which the fiag F of. the'wrapper is not held tightly against the bunch by the headi g. Wheel and in w-hichtherefore, the wrapper will wrinkle to a greater or-less extent. To cover up these wrinkles,.a patch P is applied to the cigar end, giving the finished ciga-r the appearance connected tothe suction head .13.. Attached to. rod 16 is an arm 1715.0 which is fastened a v rodi 18 theznpper end oi which carries the octagonal patch plunger 19: The rod l8is slidably guided in the sleeve 20 which has! a shoulder -2Iwhereby it isfastened to: the die A plate The patch cutting, die22 is m-ounted onlsprmgs 23 carried? by studs Qand is coun- .te-rbored to. fit: the-diameter. of the sleeve 20 on whichtit rests.

. The.hollow patch transferarms 25 carried by tubular .hu-bz'26- are;- drivenby means of sprockets 2'5 and. 28 connected byv chain 2 the sprocket 27 being. attached to: the hub 26 and the sprocket. 28a-beingqrnounted. on shaft 30' which has fixed thereon. the indexing. wheel 3Jr'a-nd: the locleplate 32; The cam: 33 which revolving-bringing'thesaididriving pins into engagement. with'mdexlng wheel: andm 't-his;.-1nanner: intermittently revolving the armsi25 I The operation of the device is as! .iiollows:

The; operator of thecigar-machine wl1en.plac-.-

inga Wrapper lea-f on-the suction head thereby also coversethe patch c-uttingdie 22, the suction: applied through pipe: 3-Zholding the;leaf firmly ion the head' while the cutter rollers, not shown roll over the. diesv and cut the-wrapper and patch from. thelea-i f To [provide suction to" the patch plunger 19, a

hole 38 in the sleeve 20' registers. with slot ,is. drivenft'riomthe main drive of? the cigar mach1ne=carr1es: a platefieto-whlch are fas r65 tened driving PIES-35' and 36,, the cam. on

39in the die plate 11 which i'sfconneicted to the pipe 37'; while the rod 18"., which is partia'l'ly hollowed out has. a verticalslot 450 in alignment" with the suction hole .38: Upon the, completion" of cu'tting operation,- the patch transfer arms 25; arei-tuinred through an angle ch75.idegrees hy -the operation of the in-dexingfdevice described 'ahove, the-lower- I most-aI'rn-movingintothe dotted position 25 arrivingthere"shortlyheiore the suctionhead andp'atch plunger. 19 which are liited by the motion of rod 16 reach their upper posi-- tions 13 and 19'. The suction head and patch plunger having reached their upper positions, the suction in them is automatically" shut 0E and suction from a strong-intermittent source is applied-to the wrapper transfer vT. The'wrapper W in thisinanner is transferred to the carrier T which'carries it to the wrapper applying mechanism of the cigar machine; 7 I I The sprocket I number of holes 41 corresponding to thenuinber of arms 25 and communicatingwithslots 54in the hub of sprockets which lead tojthe patch carriers as hereinafter d GSCFlbGClJ ThG arm25 when it reaches the position 25, stops momentarily withone ofth'e holes 41 directly in'alignment with the suction hole 42 in the support bar 43 leading to a flexible pipe 42a connected to a source of strongsuction; In

. this manner a strong suction reaches the perforated patch carrier 44 through the hole 45 of arm 25 thereby transferring'the patch P from the plunger 19 to the patch carrier 44.

The patch carriers 44 are movably fitted'into heads 46 carried by the arms 25-and pressed outwardly against a shoulder therein by springs 47 which are seated in;recessed screws 48 to bring the suction spring ofthe pat-ch carrier, into register with the bores of the headand transferarm. The patch plunger enlarged portion of the shaft 51"which'-'has and finishing operations, each patch ar- Q rives at stand 57 at the same moment when 19 is then lowered together with the suction rhea d'and the arm 25with-the patch P is now moved through an angle of 45 degrees to the position 25 by the indexing device described above and the hole 41 leaves the suction hole 42, while a moderate continuous suction- 'is applied to the patch through a flexible pipe "49 connected to a suction pump not shown; The'pipe49 is fitted into the bore 5010f an a number of ho1esj52. Thehub 53 ofsprocket 27 has slots 54 provided with ducts 55 which registerwith the holes 52 of shaft. 51*. The suction passes through the slots 54 to the holes 45 of the arms 25, the shaft 5lcarrying the plug 56 which holds .the shaftin'alignment and also keeps the suction'passage an: tight. Since the 'numberof arms 25 corre1- sponds to the number of cigars ,ej ected by the machine during'the time oftheir wrapping the cigar C, having the wrapper W cut from the same leaf is ejected from the wrappingi the hole 45, the patch sticks to the cigar with;

65 out further application of paste mechanism and placed in the stand; As the,

cigar has just been delivered from thema' chine, its tip stillhas a surplus quantity of moist paste deposited on it, therefore when the suction. is shut oif by pushing the patch carrier into the head 44, to close the endof The cam 83 on revolving brings the driv- 27, as shown in Fig. 5, hasa f "anism.

pin 35into engagementwithithe indexing V wheel'31,"but the-pin 35 before it can drive the mechanism must-first release a locking device. This is accomplished by the Vpin=35 7 engaging with the bevel 58- oiqthe sliding plate 59on-therods 60 carried by the support 43, theplate 59, carrying a stop pin 61 which-"engages with-the cutouts 6 2 of the locking plate 32. When"the plate 59moves 7 7 I i indexing wheeliethentre'eto" be turned by outward, it takes along the pin 61,'and.'the

the pin 35. Thewheel 31, through shaft 30, I

rotates the sprocket i 28 which through the chain 29 turns; the sprocket 271 When one of the arms 25 reaches position25, 'the springs 63 on the rods 60 push the-plate back to its, locked-"position. The driving pin 38 then incomes into engagement withfthebevel 58and releases 'the locking device in the above described manner and drives the indexing wheel '81. The pin'86 hasa projection '64 which fits into the space 65 between the teethofithe'in- *dexing wheel; The projection 64 is a safeguard forthe timing ofthe arms 25v as it.

prevents their turningrelative to the index.-

ing' wheel and drivingipi'ns" wl'i'en'handling the arm star. 1

'Wh'at is claimed s:

machines, the {combination 'with' means for cutting a patch 'i'or a e wrapper, of-niecha- 'nism for-removing the patchfrom said means 1. in a wrapper patching device ior c'igar and carrying it into pos'ition for application to thewrapper. 7 2; In a-wrapper patching device for cigar machines, the "coiribination" with means for cutting apatch' for afwrappe'r, of mechanism carrying it into fposition for application to the wrapper, said meansincludinga patch cutting die, afpatch plunger slida'b'ly mounted within said die and adaptedtoretain a' tobacco leafin position to beicut on-said die and to carry'thepatch'cut fromjthe lea'f to a .7 position where it is removedfby f said"mech- 3.; In a'wi'apper patching-devicegfor cigar for removingthe patch from said means and machinesfthe combinationwith'means for cutting a patch for a wrapper, of mechanism a for removing the patch from said means and carryingit into position for; application to the wrapper, said means including a die shell, a wrappersuction head and a patch cutting die mounted in; said shell, a patch plunger. 12,)

u pr ve d r w 1 t pper, said means includin a, patch 13 shaft and leading to said slots, and suction transfer arm, a' patch carrier mounted in said arm, means for moving said arm into position to. remove the vpatch from saidmeans and carry it intofpositlon forappllcation to a wrapper, and operative connections-for applyinga relatively strong suction and a rela In a wrapper patching device for cigar machines, the combination with meansfor cutting a patch for a wrapper, of mechanism for removing thepatch from said means a and carrying it into position for application to the wrapper, said mechanismlncluding. a rotatable hub, a plurallty of patch'transfer arms mountedon said hub, a spro'cket con-, nected to said hub, and an indexing dev cefor driving said sprocket, saiddev ce includ- 7 ing a shaft,:a sprocket fixed tosaid shaft and connected 'to said first named sprocket, an indexing wheel and a lock plate fixed on said shaft, a locking deviceengaging said plate to prevent rotation of said shaft, andcam means forrendering said locking device inoperative and rotating said indexing wheel.

6. In a wrapper patching devicefor cigar machines, the combination with means for cuttinga patch for-a wrapper, of mechanism for removing the patch from said means and carrying it nto positlon for-appl cat on to the wrapper, said mechanism including a hollow transfer arm, a hollow head mounted on one end of said arm, and a perforated patch carrieryieldingly mounted in said head and having asuction opening normally in registry with the bore of the head and transfer arm, said transfer arm being connected to a source" of suction whereby the suction to thepatch carrier may be out off v u cigar head, andmeansad acent the clgar bypushing it inwardly into the head. I

J 7.: In a wrapper patching device for cigar machines, the combination with means for cuttin a atch fora wra ,er of mechanism for removing the patch from said means and carrying it into position for application to the wrapper, said mechanism including a tubular hub, hollow transferarms mounted on .said hub and having/their boresleading tofthe bore of said hub, patch carriers mounted in said arms, asprocket connected to said tubular hub and being provided with a hole andhaving a hub providedwithslots extending from said holes to the bores of said arms, a shaft having a hollow-enlarged pore tionwithin the hub of said sprocketand pro vided with holes, ducts inethe hub of said sprocket registering withtlieholes in said pipes leading to the borein said shaft and to the hole'in said sprocket. i ,8, .Means for cutting a patch for wrappers, comprising a patch cutting die, andja patch plunger slidably mounted within s die and s of a cigar, andoperative connections for apcarrier.

locking device inoperative rotating said coacting with said support for cutting a cigar weasel adapted to retaina tobaccoleaf in position to be cut on said die'and to carry the patch cut from-the leaftoa positionwhere itmay be removed. r, A i

9. -Means for cutting a patch for wrappers,

com IlS1I1 -2t die shell a wra er suction head anda patch cutting die mountedin said shell, av patch plunger. mounted to reciprobe cut therefrom.

10, Means for transferring a patch. into position for application to a wrapper comzprising a patch transfer arm, a patch carrier mountedliu saidarm mechanism for moving said; arm to carry the patch toa position Where it may be applied to thetip plying suction to said patch carrier,whereby the patch may be retained on 11. An indexing device, comprising a shaft, an indexing wheel, and a lock plate fixed on said shaft, a. locking device engaglng sa d plate to prevent rotationtof-said shaft, and cam means for rendering sa d indexing wheel.

with a support for a tobacco leaf, of means wrapper from said leaf, and means cooperatingwith said wrapper cutting means to out a separate patch for said wrappergfrom thesameleaf. v i 13. In a .c garmachme, the-comblnatlon witha supportfora-tobacco leaf, ofmeans wrapper having a portion for wrapping the head wrappingiportion of said wrapper, for 1 cutting a head patch from the saidleaf of substantially thesame coloring as the head portion of the wrapper,

14:. The method of making cigars having patches matching in color thecolor of the patchedfportion of the wrapper whichconsistsfin cutting the wrapper'from a tobacco leaf, and cutting a patch from the remainder ofthe same leaf .ata locationclose to the particular portion .of the' wrapp e r tOQbe patched. i

p In testimo ywhereof, I have 'signed my nameto this specification; i

said patch 1915 12.,In a cigar machine, the combination f coactingwith said support rto out a cigar f JOHN EBE BlK AmTEAD i no 

